CLAYPOOL — The Claypool town council held a lengthy meeting yesterday, Monday, Aug. 15.

Resident Beth Brewer, along with her attorney Scott Reust, presented a petition to vacate the alley behind Brewer’s residence. Brewer wanted the one-way alley behind her residence to be vacated of public traffic. She mentioned that the noise in the alley was the main reason for the petition.

“To keep the noise down for my husband who works third shift,” Brewer answered when asked why she wanted the alley vacated.

Brewer and her lawyer stated that the adjacent property owners were in favor of vacating the alley. But one couple who owned property connected to the alley were present at the meeting to object the petition. The couple stated that they like the convenience of being able to access their home from multiple streets.

The council brought up the fact that multiple utilities run through the alley but the petition made no mention of allowing utility maintenance in the alley. Reust suggested making an addition to the petition concerning the utilities.

After agreeing on the addition, the council voted to approve the ordinance to vacate the alley. The ordinance was filed as 2016-8.

Resident John Bullard brought up a concern about his July water bill. Bullard owned two properties in Claypool but sold one of them in the middle of July. He asked the board why his water bill wasn’t prorated to reflect the change in ownership, as both himself and the new owner were charged the same, minimum amount.

Claypool Town Council President Niki Miller explained that his bill was handled just as every other resident’s water bill. The town charges by the customer, not by the property. So each customer, Bullard and the new owner, were charged the minimum amount for the month.

Town attorney, John Barrett clarified the issue even further by stating that no matter what day of the month the residence switched ownership, the billing would have been done the same.

Other Business:

• The board approved a cost of $359 for Barrett to attend a seminar. Barrett advised that the seminar would come in handy for his duties as town attorney.
• The board renewed their wastewater agreement.
• The board presented Barrett with a proposed ATV ordinance to review.
• The next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19.